Posts Tagged ‘Tory Watch’
Whose cars are these?
6th May 2010 – just a bit later in the day
The driver seemed a nice sort of chap. Can't be his fault. But don't the Tories in the regime give advice? Tut, tut.
At yet another polling station in full view of voters there is another car parked with a candidate’s posters in full view.
This is a party that has been at electioneering for years with experienced people in charge.
They can’t possibly plead ignorance of the conventions. Is this just sloppiness? Hmmm …..
6th May 2010 – late morning
And who was suspended at the time?
Oh, dear! A blatant advert for the Tory candidate right outside a polling station in full view of voters. Will they never learn?
This car was seen immediately outside a polling station today. Advertising the Tory candidate to all and sundry, on their way to vote, can it be wholly compliant with acceptable election day practice?
And inside the polling station was none other than their allegedly ’suspended’ Tory member of the Council. A little later, at 10.30am the said ’suspended’ Tory was seen knocking doors and delivering leaflets. That’s hardly a surprise as he was seen on the front page of their recent leaflet together with Tory candidates.
Suspended? According to the Wirral Top Tory he was. This ’suspension’ came soon after he had published material on the internet that caused offence to many people. He denied it to a news reporter – but the reporter had already downloaded it. He then had to own up and his ’suspension’ was announced in ringing terms declaring that the Tories had changed.
But where’s there a sign of ’change’ in this if Wallasey Tories can flout a suspension decreed by their Wirral Group leader? Well, let’s not intrude too far into their internal squabbles.
Why would anybody ever believe the Tories again?
Labour facts versus Tory selective amnesia
Adrian says: 'Let's look at the incredible twists and turns they use in their propaganda.
We do not have the huge resources the Tories get from rich donors – like Lord Ashcroft the ‘offshore’ millionaire at the centre of a tax storm; or the £50,000 they’ve had from a firm of debt collectors. With their vast sources of income we can expect an increase in their propaganda in the closing week of the election campaign. But don’t be fooled by their distortions. Below we set out the truth about just a few of them.
EXAMPLE ONE – Guinea Gap Baths and Seacombe Library.
Tory propaganda about this has been disgraceful. Adrian said:
“When I protested to the Council, in writing, calling for both to remain open, Denis Knowles did the opposite –declaring that the closures would be ‘for the greater good’. That is undeniable – it was reported in the newspapers. He also voted in Council to close them both. That is a matter of Council record that anyone can check. Yet in his propaganda he claims he joined the Tories because he was against what he campaigned and voted for. ”
Could you ever believe Tory propaganda?
EXAMPLE TWO – The Allandale Youth Club
When the Allandale was in difficulties, some years ago, Adrian was invited to chair its management committee, which he did until it was out of trouble. A youth club should never be used for propaganda. Yet the way the Tories recently made it a political football speaks volumes. There is money enough, already there in Area Forum funds, to help the Club through. The Tories always knew that but still made political capital by disgracefully dragging a kids’ club into their propaganda campaign.
It is one of the most shameful instances in this election.
EXAMPLE THREE – Denis Knowles’s suspension by the Tories
In his latest publication Cllr Knowles tries to blame Labour because the Tories suspended him following material he published on the internet. He did that all by himself. He then denied it. But a veteran Echo reporter had downloaded it and kept a copy. Then Tory Cllr Knowles had to own up. He can blame only himself if it upset the Conservatives to whom he defected from Labour (shortly after not being put back on the Merseytravel Board) so much that they’ve now hung him out to dry.
He is trying to blame all and sundry but the plain fact is that he is the architect of his own difficulties.
EXAMPLE FOUR – Sure Start
In a new high cost ‘glossy’ (Remember who bankrolls them with huge funds?) they claim Labour ‘closed the Sure Start Centre’ in Egremont - an area straddling a part of what is now Seacombe Ward and a part of what is now Liscard Ward.
This is the temporary Sure Start premises for Seacombe - situated in nearby Liscard Ward. (Egremont' straddles Seacombe and Liscard.) It's the one the Tories accuse Labour of 'closing' in their deceptive propaganda
But what really happened? When Labour first set up ‘Sure Start’ we renovated an old former church building to get ‘Sure Start’ up and running while a superb, brand new, centre was being prepared for ‘Sure Start’ to move into, inside the Seacombe Children’s Centre.
After the temporary Sure Start premises was closed this is where Sure Start was transferred. In Seacombe! The Tories 'forgot' to mention that in their propaganda.
When it was ready to occupy then of course we closed the temporary centre in the old church building and moved into the new one. So it’s perfectly true – we did ‘close’ a centre – but only because it was the old one and the new one, inside the far more suitable Children’s Centre, was ready.
Adrian said:
“I remember my Sunday School teacher, half a century ago, impressing on her young listeners the following little rhyme”
‘To say what’s misleading is worse than a lie,
‘It’s worse than a lie, because it’s so sly.’
THAT’S ONE OF THE HUGE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LABOUR AND TORY.
We don’t need to use the techniques of ‘propaganda’ – precisely because we represent the people, not big business, bankers, and stock exchange gamblers.
We prefer the plain truth.
‘Suspension’ Tory style
23rd April
Now that he is (supposed to be, although you might not notice it) ’suspended’ from the Conservative Party, defector Denis Knowles is still putting propaganda through letter boxes – calling on the people of Seacombe to vote for his Party’s Conservative candidates. Doesn’t that look pretty much like Party Political campaigning? Let’s hope his imprint’s in order.
He is also blaming Labour for his latest misfortune, following his Facebook publication about which so many people complained. He writes: “… I suspect much of it follows my decision to leave them when they tried to close Guinea Gap baths and Seacombe Library”.
Err … who is he kidding? Was there anybody more in favour of the closure proposals than Cllr Denis Knowles? Let us assist his memory.
Guinea Gap Baths and Seacombe Library
- He says now that he left Labour over the baths and library issue. But he voted at the time, in Council, for Seacombe Library and Guinea Gap baths to be closed. That is an indisputible matter of record. Surely, if what he now says is true, that would have been the time to resign?
- Far from resigning he declared their closure would be: ‘For the greater good’. That is also a matter of record; it was published in the press at the time and he has never been able to deny it. In fact the Tories taunted him for it in Council.
- If he ever believed the proposals were undesirable why didn’t he say so at the time, and argue against them? Cllr Adrian Jones did just that – in writing. He suffered no ‘reprisals’ or detriment from his Party for making his views known. Denis could have done the same. He didn’t, so why is he now claiming that he was unhappy when he never gave anybody the merest hint of it? Don’t the only verifiable facts suggest the exact opposite?
Suspension from the Conservative Party
His letter gives the impression that his suspension from the Tory Party (which accepted him without a single Conservative vote ever having been cast for him) was influenced by Labour.
- We would love to think we could have such influence over the Tory decision makers! Sorry Denis, we don’t, so that won’t stick.
- He was suspended by the Conservative Party. Nobody else.
- His suspension by the Conservatives followed allegedly offensive comments on ‘Facebook’.
- When a veteran news reporter asked him about it, the reporter says Denis denied it – but the reporter had downloaded a copy. So had others. Could it be denied then?
We won’t ask readers to take our word for any of this. Instead we’ll quote Wirral’s Top Tory – Council Conservative Group leader Jeff Green who said, when he suspended Cllr Knowles:
“There is only one thing worse than making a mistake and that is not putting your hands up and admitting it.”
For readers to decide whether this is accurately reported here, they may wish to go to the following news links:
and